Well, THAT Was An Eventful Game

Too late for a pictorial. Suffice it to say that the Yankees’ 6-4 loss to the Angels was never dull.

* A.J. was wild early, and I kept thinking he’d get pulled and we’d see Mitre (if he still exists). But somehow he only gave up one run in the first inning when the Angels threatened.

* The Yanks came back in the third – with a vengeance.

Gardner doubled.

Jeter doubled, scoring Gardner.

Tex got plunked (and looked really ********** about it).

A-Rod singled.

Cano singled, sending Tex home.

Tex doesn’t run gracefully. He charges, like he’s being chased. When he reached the plate, he lifted his shoulder and rammed into Wilson, the Angels rookie catcher, hard. Wilson went flying, clearly injured, and Tex, still looking **********, made sure he tagged home and then marched to the dugout. Wilson went to the hospital with a concussion and an ankle something or other. By the time the inning was over, it was 3-1 Yanks.

* The Angels roared back against A.J. with three runs of their own, jumping ahead 4-3.

* Swisher tied things up at 4-4 with a solo shot.

* A.J. settled down and ended up going seven innings. I have to say it was a gutsy performance, in the manner of CC and Andy, who grind games out even when they don’t have their best stuff.

* I went into the eighth hoping Joba could hold the Angels until we scored again. Wrong. He had nothing. I mean nothing. A single to Matsui and a homer by Morales made it 6-4 Angels. Dave Robertson put out the fire, but that was the ball game. Ugh.

Should Joba have been in there for a tie game on the road? What do I know, except that Chan Ho is on the DL; Aceves, Logan and Marte had been warming but sat down; and Mitre, as I said, seems to be MIA.

I hate the thought that Angel Stadium might turn itself back into a house of horrors for the Yankees, but this game didn’t end well. I’m hoping that Pettitte can restore order on Saturday.

At least A-Rod stayed off the mound when the Yankees weren’t pitching… that was tailor made for Chan Ho to come in a shut them down.. the DL sucks, still today is a more friendly times slot for the Yankees-Angels game

Seems Wilson went on the DL, Mimi, but he’ll be okay, which is good to hear. Yes, there were a lot of Yankee fans there last night, and I know quite a few who will be there today. I bet they’ll see another lively contest!

The Angels are saying he’ll be fine, Cat. It’s the ankle that landed him on the DL.

Tailor made for Chan Ho, Peter. Today I read that his hamstring is still bothering him, so I don’t think he’ll be ready to pitch any time soon. Bummer. I agree about the time slot for today’s game. The good news is I won’t be blacked out by Fox for a change, since I’ll be getting the Angels feed.

well that was a frustrating night. we were on a jet blue red eye coming back from california so i spent a lot of time score board watching and then seeing joba give up the homer over and over. i miss the phantom joba who was unhittable. it feels like it’s been ages since we’ve won but i suppose i’ve just been awake more hours than usual. i am hoping for andy to be dandy and for some timely hitting.
i saw a previous post when you wrote you were still having faith in nick johnson. my dad has given up on him and i’m trying to talk him back off that ledge. it’s still early. we learned last year that tex will get going so why not the nickster?
interesting that the ny times today had an everybody hates a rod article. with how sensitive he is, i fear it could affect him. he was happier and hit better last year.
another note on the game in oakland. fans still love nick swisher. it is interesting how beloved he is. jeter got the most boos–that is crazy to me– and swisher the most cheers.
i don’t like that we play the scary angels and the sox play baltimore but i suppose it will even out in time.
nice to return home to this column.
barbara

What do we do with Joba? I love the guy, his fist pump, and his fast ball (when he as it). But, something needs to change. Do you think the Yankees messed him up with all those silly rules trying to make him a starter? He is definitely in the right place as setup to Mo when he plays like he did in 2007. I don’t want to give up on him.
I read that the Angels feel that Mark’s hit was a clean play and no hard feelings. I hope that is true for today’s game and there is no revenge planned. I am so glad I will be able to watch the game since it starts before 10:00 pm!
Go Yankees!!

I thought Robertson came in before Joba, getting out one person? But anyway, Teix didn’t just hit the guy with his shoulder, he close-lined him. Of course the Angels will say no hard feelings, they won.😛 But AJ didn’t have his stuff either. I was impressed too he made it so far. I hope Hughes isn’t going to be our only pitcher, but I guess the 11-4 record how to even out eventually. Now the Red soax are winning more, feels like April again😦

Jane,
last night a lot of good pitcher’s just seemed to be a step off or even an inch or more outside.
Starting to think the MLB Umpire’s are calling a more defined strikezone this season, then I see pitch charts that show there have been a nice abundance of missed strike calls or pitches that did not even get near gracing the “invisible line”.
I am not intending to throw out “collusion” or even conspiracy theories here, but it seems that “Foxtrac” and devices like this have shown this season a bit of a change in Umpire’s selected zones on the corners.
But then again, when a guy has 30 starts in a season, he usually has at least two bad outings….Maybe AJ is getting it out of his system in April…

Yeah, he is, Paul. He wasn’t trying to kill the guy. He knew he couldn’t slide, so he went in hard. It was a clean play and after the game he called the Angels clubhouse to check on Wilson, who was his roomie for a bit when he played in Anaheim.

I haven’t really noticed a different strike zone, Renegade. (Maybe I’m too busy tweeting. LOL.) I do notice that pitchers around the league seem frustrated by the umps’ calls; batters too. But I figured that’s always been the case. A.J. had no command but somehow gutted it out for seven innings.

You must be exhausted, Barbara, but glad you got home safe and sound and that you had quality baseball time with the Yanks – and your dad. I miss the unhittable Joba too. He was awful last night. Let’s just say I’m trying to have faith in Nick Johnson. He’s too professional a hitter to bomb on us, so I’m going by his past successes to carry me through this lean patch. That article about how everyone hates A-Rod really bothered me. What are we in high school? I didn’t realize baseball was a popularity contest.

I think Joba will be OK, Kathleen. Just a bad night for him. And yes, the Angels seem not to hold the collision against Tex. It’s the Angels’ fans who boo him. Why I can’t understand. So he didn’t sign with them. So what? He played hard while he was an Angel, just like Matsui played hard when he was a Yankee. We don’t boo Hideki, right? Silly. Hoping for a good game today.

Yes, D-Rob came in and was great, seindsfeld. No, Hughes won’t be our only pitcher. LOL! We have a great rotation. Don’t worry so much!

Do NOT worry about today’s game… I have washed ALL offending clothes worn in the last 2 days so the Yanks have a CLEAN slate to use. The next wet of lucky Yankee Tee shirts are out and ready to bring the good luck needed to add to the 5 team series wins already in the bag ! They will win today and then take the rubber game tomorrow as well ! Is it time for another chant just in case ?

so it wasn’t a house of horrors. today’s game was very fun. it felt like a very long time since we’ve had timely hitting but it probably wasn’t that long. it is great to watch a team play well defensively. pitching well, of course, helps it all. i can’t believe andy is still so good. my only questions were why put him out there for the 8th. with a big lead why not let the older guy rest and bring in someone–logan, mitre, someone. also why marte? did he just need work? i thought save marte for a tighter situation and again, why not logan (who i don’t know why but i am fond of) and where of where is sergio. big lead seems like a good time. cervelli is really something as is cano. that was a fun afternoon. as my grandmother would have said too bad we couldn’t have saved some of the runs for javier for tomorrow.
barbara

I missed the whole game, I saw Clash of the Titans (btw I thought 3D sucked) but man oh man is Andy a Titan or what? He might has well use Medusa’s head freezing this hot Angel’s team. Ever since we played the bosox, angels and rays they’ve been winning, a lot. Maybe we just make them better? ;D Vasqueeze you can do it!

Not a house of horrors at all, Barbara! I loved the timely hitting, especially coming against Pineiro, who had stymied us the last time out. Andy is amazing. Am just about to do a new post about him. Really impressive. I guess Joe is saving Mitre for long relief, although at this rate he’ll be totally rusty.

Yes, the wash and the chant worked, Cookie. Should we start up for tomorrow? Here goes: “Javier Vazquez will pitch a gem and the Yankees will beat the Angels.”

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